BE401-4-AU-CO:
Introduction to Management

The details
2023/24
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
15
26 September 2023

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

BE410, BE411, BE413, BE418, BE420, BE422, BE425, BE426, BE431, BE448

Key module for

BSC N400 Accounting,
BSC N401 Accounting (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N402 Accounting (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N404 Accounting (Including Placement Year),
BSC N420 Accounting and Finance,
BSC N422 Accounting and Finance (Including Placement Year),
BSC NN43 Accounting and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NNK3 Accounting and Finance (Including Year Abroad),
MACCN440 Accounting and Finance,
MACCN441 Accounting and Finance (Including Placement Year),
MACCN442 Accounting and Finance (Including Year Abroad),
BSC NN24 Accounting and Management,
BSC NN27 Accounting and Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC NN42 Accounting and Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NNK2 Accounting and Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N4L1 Accounting with Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NKL1 Accounting with Economics (Including Year Abroad),
BSC NL41 Accounting with Economics,
BSC NL44 Accounting with Economics (Including Placement Year),
BSC N390 Banking and Finance,
BSC N391 Banking and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N392 Banking and Finance (Including Placement Year),
BSC NH90 Banking and Finance (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N200 Business Management,
BSC N201 Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N202 Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N204 Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA NR19 Business Management and Modern Languages,
BA N1R9 Business Management with a Modern Language,
BSC N300 Finance,
BSC N301 Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N302 Finance (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N304 Finance (Including Placement Year),
BA T7N2 Latin American Studies with Business Management,
BA T7N4 Latin American studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N2N5 Management and Marketing (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NN25 Management and Marketing,
BSC NN2M Management and Marketing (Including Placement Year),
BSC NNF5 Management and Marketing (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN00 Law with Business,
LLB MN01 Law with Business (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN02 Law with Business (Including Placement Year),
LLB MN03 Law with Business (Including Foundation Year),
BA N19R Business Management and Language Studies,
BSC N344 Finance and Management,
BSC N345 Finance and Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N346 Finance and Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC N347 Finance and Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA LN10 Business Economics,
BA LN11 Business Economics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LN12 Business Economics (Including Placement Year),
BA LX10 Business Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BA VV20 Philosophy with Business Management,
BA VV21 Philosophy with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA VV22 Philosophy with Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA VV23 Philosophy with Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
BA L933 Global Studies with Business Management,
BA L934 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA L935 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA L936 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
MMANNN35 Marketing and Management,
MMANNN36 Marketing and Management (Including Placement Year),
MMANNN37 Marketing and Management (Including Year Abroad),
BA L215 Politics with Business,
BA L216 Politics with Business (Including Placement Year),
BA L217 Politics with Business (including Year Abroad),
BSC LL25 Politics with Business,
BSC LL26 Politics with Business (Including Placement Year),
BSC LL27 Politics with Business (including Year Abroad),
BSC N260 Business and Human Resource Management,
BSC N261 Business and Human Resource Management (including Placement Year),
BSC N262 Business and Human Resource Management (including Year Abroad),
BSC N263 Business and Human Resource Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA N29RCO Business Management with Language Studies

Module description

Introduction to Management is a broad-ranging module which is intended to provide a foundation in the most significant issues in management theory and practice, as well as to prepare you for related modules in subsequent years of your degree course. Because theoretical explanations – i.e., academic interpretations of what managers do and even of what they say they do – and what managers actually do in real organisations on a day-to-day basis may differ, we will also draw out some of the connections and dis-junctures between management theory and management practice. Our teaching also emphasises the ethics of managing, how to balance the bottom line of the business with the organisation's wider responsibilities to society and other stakeholders.

Module aims

1. To provide a grounding in a wide range of management theories;
2. To introduce both the history and the contemporary context of management in practice;
3. To emphasise that management is a multi-faceted and complex activity;
4. To prepare students for future study on management modules.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Be able to identify and explain key management concepts and theories;

2. Be equipped to interrogate and discuss a range of management activities;

3. See management activities as both varied and complicated and have the ability to challenge received wisdom about management theory and practice;

4. Have acquired the knowledge and intellectual skills necessary for future study on modules in management studies.

Module information

Skills for Your Professional Life
(Transferable Skills - reflecting the skills mapping recently undertaken in EBS)

A1 Synthesis and bringing together concepts and ideas
A2 Critical thinking
A3 Evaluation of evidence
A5 Recognise rival conceptual ideas

D2 Analysing qualitative data
D4 Analysing academic literature
D6 Desk research/netnographic skills

S4 Showing own initiative
S5 Demonstrating motivation to succeed

C5 Argumentation/Essay writing skills

T1 Core IT skills (word, excel, Powerpoint, outlook)

R6 Understanding plagiarism and referencing

BM1 Ability to adapt different leadership practices and identify leadership opportunities and challenges in organisations
BM2 Ability to identify significance and effects of HRM practices
BM3 Ability to develop greater sensitivity and awareness around implied and explicit ethical assumptions and beliefs

Module Information

The module is contains three elements:

Managing People in Organisations: We will explore aspects of the individual and organisations. We take a close-up focus on individuals and the management of individuals engaging with issues such as teams, groups, leading, coaching, mentoring and cultures at work.

Managing Organisational Practices: We develop our perspective to consider the context in which individuals work. As such this part of the module will look at the practices involved in organising work, exploring broader themes including power and politics, knowledge and learning, corporate social responsibility and ethics.

Managing Organisational Structures and Processes: Some lectures will provide an historical understanding of the development of management processes. It will tackle concepts such as the 'one best way to manage', some persistent and often problematic features of our organisations and introducing contemporary issues such as including globalisation and new organisational forms.

Learning and teaching methods

Teaching and Learning on BE401, Introduction to Management consists of lectures, classes, guided reading and personal study. These will be delivered through a system of 'Dual Delivery' combining of traditional methods and online learning platforms. Lectures Introduction to Management will be taught over the Autumn term through weekly lecture sessions (weeks 2-11). The lecture sessions will combine - traditional lectures - which provide basic coverage of the relevant ideas, theories and concepts - and activities - which may involve the individual completion of exercises, watching audio-visual material and engaging with MOODLE and the MyManagementLab online learning platform where appropriate. These activities are intended to illuminate understanding of the issues covered in the lecture. Guided reading Lecturers will provide readings from the management literature which discuss concepts and theories in greater depth and apply these to business contexts. The lecturers will also provide questions to help you approach these materials. The concepts and theories which are introduced in lectures and discussed in the guided reading will be examined in the Summer term examination. MOODLE and MyManagementLab MOODLE is the Universities online learning platform for all modules at the Business School. Lectures, notices, links to wider support and supplementary reading can be found there. Additionally, BE401 uses the MyManagementLab platform which sits within MOODLE to offer remote access to the core textbook and enhanced online interactivity via custom built exercises, tasks and assessments.

Bibliography

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   MCQ Test    30% 
Coursework   SUMMER ESSAY ASSESSMENT     70% 

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Sonia Siraz, email: sonia.s.siraz@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Sonia Siraz, Dr Jordon Lazell & Dr Nicos Moushouttas
ebsugcol@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
No
Yes
No

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Essex Business School

Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements, industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.

The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.